• Chairman’s Announcements (00:12)Mr. Bonin will be hosting a Town Hall-style meeting on March 27, 2012 at 7:00 PM at the Douglas Town Hall. It is open to all residents.

• Citizen’s Forum (1:10)No citizens came forward.

Mr. David Labonte of MIIA joined the meeting. For the third time, Douglas is one of 9 communities that was recognized for its excellence in loss control and risk management. Mr. Labonte offered his congratulations for the Town’s outstanding efforts. Mr. Cohen and Mr. Guzinski thanked Suzanne Kane for taking the lead and helping the Town to get this award. Mr. Labonte left the meeting.

1. 7:05 Pole Petition - #12137267 Gilboa Street (6:00)In the agenda is a memo dated February 29, 2012 from Suzanne Kane, a petition from National Grid dated February 2, 2012 and related materials. Mr. Bonin opened the public hearing. There is no engineer from National Grid present. There is one resident present. Ms. Kane said that the fire pump needs a dedicated line, and the pole petition is to give them that dedicated line. The building cannot get an occupancy until they have that in place. Mary Bedoin, 100 Lackey Dam Road came forward to ask that the pole that is before Gilboa mountain be removed. She feels it would be best for National Grid to remove that pole so that in the future, it would not have to be removed for the west side connector road. Mr. Cundiff explained the connector road project. The poles would get relocated if the project got approved. He explained to Ms. Bedoin that this petition would be for adding one pole. Ms. Bedoin feels the issue is now settled. Mr. Hughes made a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. LaPorte seconded the motion. All- Aye.Mr. Hughes made a motion to approve the pole petition as presented. Mr. LaPorte seconded the motion. All-Aye.

2. Wallum Lake State Park - Discussion (11:52)In the agenda are letters from Mr. Timothy Bonin and Chief Patrick Foley to Commissioner Lambert dated February 28, 2012 and related materials. Chief Patrick Foley and Detective McLaughlin joined the meeting. Mr. Bonin presented an outline of what he and Chief Foley have been working on regarding DCR operations at Wallum Lake. Mr. Bonin summarized the meetings that have occurred with DCR to date. Two weeks ago a letter was received from them DCR responding to their specific concerns. Mr. Bonin read a letter he wrote to Commissioner Lambert stating his dissatisfaction with DCR’s response. This past Friday, there was some commitment to closing after the park reaches capacity. DCR will provide two additional signboards to let people know that the park is closed. The stumbling block is deciding on a set time to close and a time to reopen. Sen. Moore agrees that 4:00 is a good time to reopen the park.It is Mr. Bonin’s position to not compromise so much that the meetings become fruitless. Chief Foley wants to know their plan and resources once the park opens on Memorial Day. Visibility is a big component. Mr. Bonin stated that these issues affect every Town resident, whether you go to the beach or not. The Douglas Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency at the facility. Det. McLaughlin stated that DCR has to provide the resources and the law enforcement to keep the park sustainable. Chief Foley said raising the fees will not happen. They will try closing the park at capacity on July 4th. Det. McLaughlin said the crucial step is to see how DCR responds to their last letter. Mr. Cohen stated that if we do not know what we are doing going into May when the park opens, the Board will need to consider some serious actions to proactively deal with it ourselves. Chief Foley said there are other areas that create problems, i.e., jet skis and boats. There is no way of governing them and no patrols. In regards to the water, Det. McLaughlin brought up concerns regarding the water and the usage and would have the state put resources in place to respond to an emergency quickly. DCR’s response to those water concerns was that they are not responsible for the water, and they do not want the liability of having their staff respond to issues in the water, but the state allows 30-35 boat parking lots. DCR’s mission is to make their properties accessible to as many people as possible. Mr. Cohen added, “They are not willing to do it safely.” Chief Foley stated that a few years ago, they had a boat already down there so if there was a problem, there was a boat already there. If there is an accident, time is of the essence. The park opens Memorial Day. The biggest strain is July 4th. Chief Foley would like members of the Board to go down there that day to see what he is dealing with. Mr. Bonin asked if the Board was ready to speak in a unified voice. Mr. Hughes feels that progress is being made, but if push comes to shove, he agrees with Mr. Cohen. Mr. Cohen says we need to be at a point where operations of the park are safe for the people of the town, and we need to know before going into July 4th that everything will work all summer. He doesn’t have a problem with pushing as hard as necessary to obtain that. Mr. LaPorte agrees with all of the above. Chief Foley will dedicate a check-off box in the CAD system so that anything related to the park can be brought up. After Labor Day when the park is closed, it will be known which events were Wallum Lake related and which were Douglas State Park related. There has not yet been any correspondence from the Commissioner in response to the letter sent out last Friday. Chief Foley and Detective McLaughlin left the meeting.

3. Compost Facility Follow Up (32:31)In the agenda is a memo from Mr. Guzinski to the Board of Selectmen dated March 1, 2012.Mr. Bill Cundiff, Town Engineer joined the meeting. He has been working with the Building Facilities Construction Committee (BFCC) on this topic. He gave an overview as to what has been done to date. In summary, there is no suitable town-owned location. The BFCC has questioned if there is a need for this facility. A survey was sent to a dozen towns, data was collected and then the abutting towns were asked if they were interested in a regional approach. Uxbridge is the only town that has shown an interest. Mr. Cundiff and John Furno met with Ben Sherman, Uxbridge’s DPW Director, today and toured his facility. They seem very receptive in having a shared facility for a year or two. Mr. Sherman will bring up the topic with the Uxbridge Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager. If they are receptive, it can be taken to the next step. Sharing a facility with Uxbridge for a year or so could determine interest in Douglas without significant capital outlay. The facility is on River Road, off 146. Stickers would be sold in Douglas and residents would drive to the facility and make their deposit. Mr. Cundiff said they do need to screen the product. This sharing of the facility may be the incentive to be more meticulous. They use their end product for municipal use. They accept brush and yard waste. The fee still needs to be negotiated. In Uxbridge, the cost is $20 for the year. Mr. Cundiff feels it would be a win-win for the Town. Mr. Hughes feels this is a good way to go to begin with. This could determine the need for a facility without a large cash outlay. His only concern is that the distance may be a deterrent. Mr. LaPorte feels another deterrent might be that people may not be able to take the soil home. Mr. Cundiff feels that Uxbridge would not be opposed if people wanted to take some of the soil, but it does need to be screened. Mr. LaPorte then agreed it is a good compromise. Mr. Cohen agrees it would be an acceptable start, however if it is done strictly as a measurement of interest, some people will just not do it because of the distance. The Board agrees that the ideal situation would be to have a facility in town. Mr. Cundiff suggested doing this for one year and then come back and make a determination as to whether or not to move forward. Mr. Cohen asked if a dump truck could be made available periodically where people could bring in things, load up the truck and bring to Uxbridge. Mr. Cundiff feels that detail could be worked out with Uxbridge.

4. RFP for Old Elementary School (44:07)In the agenda is a memo from Mr. Cundiff dated March 1, 2012.Mr. Cundiff put the ad together and condensed the RFP. If it is acceptable to the Board, it can be sent over to be in the next edition of the Worcester Business Journal, which comes out monthly.Mr. Cohen asked if this ad would be appropriate for The Central Register. Mr. Cohen tested the URL today. Mr. Cundiff said not all the documents are uploaded. Mr. Cohen is concerned with stating that the building has been abandoned for about 30 years, but maintained. He does not know if the Board should be up front about that. Abandoned could be changed to “unused”.

5. ATM & STM Warrant Review (47:41)In the agenda are the Special Town Meeting Warrant and Annual Town Meeting Warrant and related materials.Mr. Guzinski presented two draft warrants. The first is a Special Town Meeting Warrant, which has an article for budgetary transfers. The lines on the warrant are in danger of going into deficit before the end of the fiscal year. He may ask that the article keep its present shape because the time lapse between when the warrants close and the Town Meeting occurs makes it beneficial to leave some leeway. Mr. Hughes asked what the Town Clerk expenses were. Mr. Guzinski replied the costs were related to adding the third district. Mr. LaPorte asked if it was known how much damage the last snowstorm did. Mr. Guzinski replied it cost approximately $20,000. He will have an updated list by late this week. The Annual Town Meeting warrant has 19 articles. The first 8 articles are standard every year. Some of the numbers are still being finalized. The next set of articles is special to this year. Article 9 is a library addition and ADA accessibility, and is estimated at $1.9 million. Mr. Guzinski recommends that if Article 9 were to proceed, to have a debt exclusion article, and that would mean that the language would have to change. Mr. Cohen asked if the Library Trustees want the debt exclusion to be simultaneous with the Town Meeting in May. Mr. Biagioni replied they would like to do everything at the same time. Mr. Guzinski said the deadline is April 2, 2012. Mr. Cohen then replied that there would be time to do this at the next Board of Selectmen meeting. Mr. Guzinski stated that the question would be if the Board believes there is enough time for the residents to become familiar with the project. A decision does not need to be made tonight, however he suggests a decision be made by March 20, 2012. State law requires a 4/5 vote for a debt exclusion to be placed on the ballot. Mr. Biagioni will bring the whole project in front of the Board of Selectmen at the March 20, 2012 meeting. Article 10 is the Water Protection Overlay District Zoning Map and Bylaw Amendment. Mr. Guzinski expects to get the language and map later this week. Article 11, Davis Street/Gleason Court - Waterline Loop. This article is in relation to the School Building project. Part of the loop would be built within the scope of the school project, the remainder of the loop would have to be built by the Town outside the scope of the school project. Mr. Cundiff stated that DiNisco Design has agreed with the estimate. He expects the estimate to go down. Alternate 2 will be removed from the estimate. It still needs to be determined if the work will go out or be done in house. Mr. Guzinski’s recommendation is that the funding come from the MBTE money in the stabilization account. Mr. Cohen stated that if the loop is not done in house and it goes out to bid, CTA (the general contractor working on the school project) would have an advantage and be able to bid lower. If it were sent out to bid, it would be a competitive bid. Mr. Bonin asked if we could send it out to bid and then decide to do it in house. Mr. Cundiff replied that the risk in doing the project in house is that the Town does not have the equipment to move heavy rocks. Mr. Cohen stated that the School Building Committee is not allowed to fund the extension outside of the School Project because it is unique and separate from the article that was approved at Town Meeting. Article 12 Personnel Bylaw Amendment. It is Mr. Guzinski’s recommendation that the current bylaw be abolished and replaced with the one in the warrant. He also recommends having members of the Personnel Board come to the April 3, 2012 meeting to explain what they are looking to do and their reasons for the changes. Mr. Bonin agreed. Articles 13-19 are all street acceptance articles. Mr. Guzinski asked that the Board contact him if they have any questions. Mr. Cundiff quickly summarized: Article 13 is being put forth by the developer, Articles 14-17 are being put forth by the Planning Board, Articles 18 & 19 are being put forth by the developer. All of these Articles will be coming before the Board in the next couple of weeks at a layout hearing. Mr. Cohen stated, in general, he thought there were going to be some additional school building reimbursements from feasibility and schematic design coming through.

6. FY13 Budget-Discussion (65:48)In the agenda is a Summary of Projected Revenues and related materials for FY13. Mr. Guzinski gave an overview of the front cover sheet. The School Department and Blackstone Valley Tech will both be presenting to the Finance Committee on March 19, 2012. Local Receipts are flat. Net Cherry Sheet shows a $100,000 increase in State Aid. No Free Cash numbers are in the spreadsheet. Certified Free Cash is $414,840. Mr. Cohen asked why the Post Office Applied to Debt number changes. Ms. Lovett will look at that. Mr. Guzinski replied that there are three years left to the post office contract. Total available for appropriation $24,729,147. Mr. Guzinski briefly talked about the remaining pages in the packet. Unrestricted Aid has gone down dramatically since 2008. There has been a small increase in School Choice Sending Tuition. Free Cash and Snow & Ice are in better situations than last year, however New Growth has dropped and State Aid is minimal. Mr. Bonin asked if it was known when the State numbers would be out. Mr. Guzinski replied that the final numbers would not be done until after the Town Meeting. He is hopeful for a vote from the legislature to guarantee a base by mid April. Mr. Bonin asked what percentage of Free Cash is unspent, already budgeted dollars. Mr. Guzinski replied about one-third. $134,000 is unencumbered, unexpended.

7. Government Study – Discussion (79:32)In the agenda is an updated Organizational Chart for the Town of Douglas. Mr. Guzinski presented an updated Organizational Chart, which reflects the changes that were approved by the Town in its acceptance of Chapter 145 of the Special Acts of 2009. Mr. Guzinski recommends the Board consider formally approving this chart. It is intended to be posted on the Town website and be included in the Annual Report. Mr. Guzinski thanked Suzanne Kane for her work getting this chart formatted on the computer. Page 1 has the overall breakdown and page 2 has all the appointments that the Board of Selectmen makes.Mr. Cohen made a motion to designate this chart as the official work chart, excluding schools, for the Town of Douglas. Mr. Hughes seconded the motion. All-Aye.Mr. Hughes would like a separate meeting for a Government Study Workshop. Mr. Cohen agrees. That meeting will be April 10, 2012, 7:00 PM. A copy of the study has been posted on the Town website.

8. School Building Project Update (86:06)In the agenda is a memo from Mr. Guzinski dated March 1, 2012. Mr. Guzinski stated that most of the contract documents for the general contractor have been finalized. There was a kickoff meeting last Friday morning. He feels the project is going smoothly. Mr. Cohen received an update today that the first visible work of taking down trees may happen Thursday morning. There has not yet been a date finalized for a groundbreaking ceremony.Mr. LaPorte asked if there had been any movement on the generator. Mr. Guzinski said he is looking into it to make sure that it is saved for the Town. He will be having meetings with the interested departments to look for the best place for that generator.

9. Approval of the Minutes (94:51) February 21, 2012: Mr. Hughes made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 21, 2012 Board of Selectmen meeting as presented. Seconded by Mr. LaPorte. All - Aye. February 21, 2012: Mr. Hughes made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 21, 2012 Executive Session meeting as presented and retained in their entirety. Seconded by Mr. LaPorte. All – Aye, Mr. Cohen abstained.